Ask a Service Officer: Affordable Care Act

A. If you are enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care program, including VA's health care, Civilian Health and Medical and Spina Bifida Health Care, you have coverage under the standards of the health-care law and do not need to take further action. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not change your VA benefits or out-of-pocket costs.

Veterans enrolled in VA’s health-care system will receive this information through the mail. The letter from VA is another means to inform you that there is no need to take any additional steps to obtain health insurance to comply with the health care law coverage standards going into effect in January 2014.

It is important to note that if you are in Priority Group 8E/G, you are not enrolled in VA’s health-care system. Therefore you must takes steps to gain health coverage that meet minimum requirements under the ACA. Sub-priority group 8E and 8G are Veterans with gross household incomes above the VA national income thresold and the geographically-adjusted income threshold for their resident location and are either zero percent, non-compensable service-connected or not service-connected at any rate.

Robert Rebuck

How can we all rally together to create a petition or bill or whatever we need, to make the PEOPLE'S voice heard, not just the voice of all the politicians. I thought American was the land where people had a say. Evidently our forefathers did not foresee what a mess has become of our government "by the people"

Gary Brown

Any time something is forced on someone, mine and your freedom is
slowly being taken away, a state run nation, I used to believe in the courts, but now it's all about who has the most power, what's next.

Dale J.

The AFA would not have become law if not for the outrageous decision by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, making the majority opinion, that the act is a tax. Forcing Citizens to buy health insurance or another product should be unconstitutional. But, we have a Congress that passed the act. And then exempting themselves, and others also exempted by the "President." Veterans may be covered but what about the spouse and children? AFA must be provided for them, so the savings by having VA are almost nil of one has a family. The end of the United States, as it was for more than 200 years is not far off

dale j

Kev

I'm going to stay out of the politics of it all, but I would ask new and older vets to do a careful, unbiased study of policy votes over the past 50 years and ask yourselves who, as a party, has done the most for vets. You might be surprised. Even if you choose not to believe it, at least you'll know the truth.

John A Gracki

If you are enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care program, including VA's health care, Civilian Health and Medical and Spina Bifida Health Care, you have coverage under the standards of the health-care law and do not need to take further action. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not change your VA benefits or out-of-pocket costs.

David' b

This Obama care is one of the worst pieces go legislation history. The democrats passed this on political technicality without one republican vote and shoved it down our throats. Let them all be counted and get rid of them in the next election.

Gib Bradbury

We need as members to sponsor government representatives who will have a platform of having all the millionaires(most are) in Congress have the same benefits ,pensions , expenses ,health care and salaries as we do . when you have to directly match yourself to your public it becomes much more tolerable than a different plan for each . when you have to use it , it gathers much more attention , and care. it used to be a calling to serve your country , now is is big business .

Frank Kenison

Maybe the members of our House and Senate would agree to cut their pensioner by the same percentage they cut pensions to veterans. Who will he brave soul to sponsor such legislation? They are in control, them and only them. How come we, The Legion does not use its power to help correct some of these things that are just not right. Who is getting paid off. It is so simple to advocate this is wrong, the benefit congress has vote for themselves, how come The Legion is silent on these issues. How many times would a member have to point out how wrong and simple to correct these shellfish extravagances are to see some action.

c4246

At risk of exposing my ignorance, I just don't know what to do as I don't or can't trust Obamacare or whether the VA care I just got into will still be there. I live on Social Security only and that too is not keeping up with COLA so it is as though everything about our government is cutting protection, economically and physically. If it was only me that can't figure it out, I'd at least think someone in government could help me choose the best path. I don't know what to do. I thought by now, Obamacare would sink or swim but they keep changing and extending and still many say it will raise costs soon.

Wallace W. Lewis

james R Sasnders

this bill is an insult to the American people. The people who wrote and approved should be forced to live by its rules as the general public has too. There are more people harmed by this bill than helped. Shame on you politicians.

Duane Patten

It's difficult to understand why Reid, Polosi and Udall could have such a distaste for the American public and come up with a 2700 page health care bill that will have drastic premium increases plus the tax
increases and full time to part time workers as businesses try to stay stable. The AFS belongs in the trash can.